Heretofore, it has been well known to provide orthopedic support devices for the joints of the body. Such orthopedic support devices are commonly used for the major articulated joints of the body including the knee, the ankle, the elbow, the wrist, the neck, the hip, the shoulder, and the back or spine. These orthopedic devices are used to protect injured joints, joints undergoing rehabilitation, previously injured joints, arthritic joints, and any other type of weakened joints.
While daily activities may not place excessive stress on these weakened joints, some activities such as athletic participation and competition can place a tremendous amount of stress on these joints. Although healthy joints may tolerate such stress without any additional support, orthopedic support is usually recommended for weakened joints.
Generally, an orthopedic support protects a joint from lateral motion in a direction transverse to the plane of flexion and extension of the joint while the joint is in a resting position or in motion. An orthopedic support may also protect the joint from significant rotational movement. At the same time, the orthopedic support should not interfere with normal flexion and extension of the joint. While not interfering with this movement, the support should be able to provide resistance to the flexure of the joint to assist in the ongoing rehabilitation of the joint and continual strengthening of that joint, together with the muscles, tendons and ligaments.
Various devices have been previously developed to provide orthopedic support to the joints during daily activity as well as during athletic activity. These devices are typically represented by those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,064,874; 4,130,115; 4,366,813; 4,425,912; 4,445,505; and 4,986,263.
Deficiencies of prior known devices include the inability to easily adjust the amount of lateral support, the inability to easily adjust the amount of resistance against flexure of the joint or for a certain area about a joint, the inability to increase or decrease support and resistance for different activities or different phases of treatment, the inability to provide support and resistance as determined by the individual's bone structure, and the lack of a device that provides support and resistance through light, continuous forces.
A wide variety in the amount, type, and location of support is necessary because each injury to a joint, each type of treatment for that injury, each rehabilitation process for that joint, and each physical activity which that joint can undergo will greatly differ for each person. Similarly, the proper amount, type, and location of resistance in flexure of the joint will vary depending on the original amount of damage to the joint, the location of that damage, the stage of rehabilitation, the overall strength of the joint, and the activity which the joint will undergo. Thus, while many heretofore known devices provide support for an injured joint, it has not been known to provide an orthopedic device in which the amount of support and the amount of resistance can be easily adjusted, depending on requirements for a particular patient, or that can be changed during treatment to accommodate changing conditions.
Heretofore known devices have not used light, continuous forces to provide the support and resistance in orthopedic devices even though light, continuous forces have proved effective in treating other deformities such as in orthodontically treating malpositioned teeth. More particularly, the use of nickel titanium wire has become widespread in orthodontics because of its excellent memory properties and capability of providing light, continuous forces.